that is 92% drop from the last election. the figures are nearly as low in other battleground states. back in august the researchers said the number of requested ballots would go up before november but it would still be very hard to match the 2008 levels. james rosen is on this story live in d.c. james? >> shep, good evening. the pentagon office tasked by law with boosting military voting rates is dod's federal voting assistance program. the head of that office wants all men and women in uniform to know that she and her colleagues say they are fully complying with the law and that there is still time for service members across the globe to request, receive, and cast absentee ballots. >> there is not a state that has a voter registration deadline any sooner than 30 days prior to the election. and many go right down to the wire. north carolina, for example, the voter registration deadline is the fifth of november. >> state by state surveys conducted in august showed that in florida, absentee ballot requests by military personne